"The situation just now was all due to my tactical errors; don't feel any psychological pressure…"
During the timeout, Coach Cotton took full responsibility for the previous tactical mistakes.
He wanted to use this method of taking the blame himself to help the players calm down.
After all, the previous defensive errors were too basic and would surely deal a huge blow to the players' confidence and morale.
If this serious situation wasn't handled well, it could even cause St. Mary's football team to be disheartened from then on.
From a practical standpoint, Coach Cotton's defensive strategy earlier indeed had significant problems, but the players who executed this defensive tactic on the field also needed to bear some responsibility for this error.
Given this situation, even though Coach Cotton was trying his best to comfort the players, everyone's expressions still weren't very good.
The mocking sounds from the spectators outside the field seemed to crush the young players of St. Mary's High.
On their youthful faces, there were complex expressions of confusion, self-blame, and even anger, among other unclear emotions.
Seeing the players' current state, Coach Cotton also felt very weary.
He, who considered his coaching ability to be not bad, didn't know why, when deciding on the tactics for this game, he always felt a sense of being intellectually suppressed by the opposing head coach.
For a seasoned head coach, this subtle sense of disparity was very uncomfortable.
"For the rest of the game, we will revert to the Bird Cage defensive tactic. However, under certain conditions, I still hope you can pay more attention to their number twenty-three…"
As the one-minute timeout ended, Coach Cotton, having suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind, gave the players new tactical instructions.
It was evident that Coach Cotton was much more conservative in this tactical choice.
"Michael, go! You're always the best!!!"
When St. Mary's football team re-entered the field, Little Shawn, holding an SLR camera, let out a loud cheer.
Michael, who had been looking remorseful, turned and showed a simple, honest smile after hearing the little guy's cheer.
And when he turned his head back again, his eyes had already become resolute.
...
In the remaining part of the fourth quarter, the St. Mary's players, who had just made a big joke of themselves, inevitably became hesitant and cautious in both offense and defense.
As a result, the team continuously made several minor errors.
On Medford's side, led by Mike, they grew stronger with each play.
Anyone could see that the two teams had polarized in terms of momentum.
As time went on, the Medford Team, with their strong desire to attack, gradually widened the score.
Driven by this overwhelming momentum, the players of St. Mary's High successively gave up resistance.
However, among the St. Mary's players who were slacking off, Michael became an exception.
He silently executed the tactics from beginning to end, and although he was knocked down by Mike repeatedly at the end of the fourth quarter, he got up every time, still steadfastly continuing to carry out the coach's tactics.
Clearly, this uncommunicative Michael had not given up on the game.
"St. Mary's High doesn't seem to be entirely useless…"
"Actually, that Michael isn't bad either…"
...
Inspired by Michael's tenacious spirit, the spectators outside, while discussing him, significantly reduced their jeers towards the St. Mary's Team.
Similarly, Michael's performance was also noticed by his teammates.
First, incomprehension, then admiration…
Finally, the players of St. Mary's High also seemed to be infected by Michael's will. One by one, they spontaneously followed him and joined the game.
Subsequently, after experiencing great ups and downs and resolving their mental blocks, the overall strength of St. Mary's football team seemed to have been elevated.
It was just a pity that they encountered Mike, who was executing a star tactic.
Mike, without any reservations, could still easily rush into the opponent's end zone repeatedly when facing the re-energized St. Mary's Team.
...
Accompanied by enthusiastic cheers from outside the field, when Mike once again carried the ball, knocking down several opposing defenders and rushing into the opponent's end zone.
The final whistle blew on the field.
57:39.
The Medford Team won the game with an absolute advantage.
Immediately, amidst the audience's joyful shouts and cheers, the scene turned into a lively ocean.
Some people in the crowd threw items into the sky in celebration without a care, some punched the air to vent their emotions, and more people embraced their friends beside them…
And on the field, Mike, as the team's victorious hero, was currently holding the football and gently waving his arm at the spectators who were frantically shouting his name from outside the field.
This feeling of being in the spotlight was actually quite good.
At the same time, Mike, who had just enjoyed a wave of audience adoration, caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that Michael, whom he had just knocked down, had not gotten up from beyond the end zone line.
"Big guy, are you okay?" Mike stepped forward to check on Michael's condition.
In his mind, he was wondering if he had used too much force and injured him.
"I'm fine." Michael, having recovered, got up on his own. After seeing who was in front of him, he said earnestly, "You… are amazing!"
Michael seemed to have been impressed by Mike's strength, but being uncommunicative, he couldn't think of any good words to praise the other party at the moment.
"You're not bad either, I have high hopes for your future…" Mike smiled kindly.
He had a good impression of this Michael.
However, before the two could exchange more words, the Medford Team players who arrived shortly after, led by Georgie and Aaron, excitedly lifted Mike up.
Then, a group of people excitedly carried Mike around the field, accepting a new round of cheers from the spectators.
...
After a lively celebration, when Mike, surrounded by his teammates, came to the sidelines, Jack, accompanied by two TV reporters, pushed his way over.
"Mike, do you still recognize me?" Compared to his disheveled appearance last year, Jack, now wearing a tie, looked much more energetic.
"Of course, Jack. Congratulations on becoming the head of the reporter team—" Mike greeted him familiarly.
Because they had collaborated and made money last year, they had a few phone calls afterward.
"It's nothing, just a small team leader…" When mentioning his career progress, Jack's smug smile couldn't be hidden.
Although Jack was currently only a small team leader in the sports reporter division, in terms of organization, he was considered to have entered the leadership.
"Alright, let's not talk about that." Jack, who had subtly shown off a bit, got to the point: "I want to take a few sets of photos of you."
"Making posters?" Mike asked while tidying his hair.
"No, we'll discuss the posters later…" Jack explained, "I'm preparing to do a special news feature on you, and I need to use your photos."
Jack, who had bet on Mike last year, had also solidified his position at the TV station because of it.
In return, he planned to help Mike gain fame.
Of course, as an adult, Jack also had some selfish motives.
That is, if he successfully helped Mike gain fame this time, he would very likely be able to advance further in his position at the TV station.
It could be said that this time, Jack still chose to bet on Mike again.
"So that's how it is." Mike didn't dislike the feeling of being famous, so he cooperatively struck a handsome pose.
Then, Jack directed his subordinates to set up the equipment and took several sets of photos of Mike.
"Tsk tsk—" Looking at the handsome images in the camera, Jack praised, "Believe me, you'll soon become a football star in Texas…"
Actually, compared to being a football star, Jack had something else he didn't say. That is, he thought Mike was more suited to be a star in Hollywood.
With his looks, if he was willing, there would be no difficulty in charming a large number of female fans.
"Thanks for the good wishes." Mike, having completed the photo session, immediately started to walk towards Lina and the others.
"Wait, Mike…" Jack whispered, "Do you see those people over there wearing baseball caps? They are scouts from various university football teams. If you want to develop in football, you must perform well in the upcoming invitational tournament…"
The high school spring invitational tournament could be considered another March Madness, and scouts from various universities would also take this opportunity to observe high school students they deemed to have potential.
By the upcoming graduation season in June, these scouts would recruit those promising high school students into their universities.
"Thanks for the reminder." Mike glanced at the university scouts in the crowd, but didn't pay much attention to them.
On one hand, he was only in eleventh grade this year, and it wasn't time for graduation yet. On the other hand, he had never considered entering university as a sports scholarship student.